Back in the day before social media advanced online communication
forever, I started a message board thread asking “How and when did you
discover Jewel?” This thread remained active for a number of years and
contained many heartfelt recollections from fans young and old and from
every walk of life. Because of Jewelʼs career longevity and the era in
which it began, this thread also conveyed a great deal about the dawn
and rapid growth of the Internet, viral marketing and the paradigm
shifts in the music industry over the past two decades. It became my
favorite thread to read for all those reasons, but the responses that I
enjoyed most were those that conveyed your initial reactions, often in
vivid detail, of experiencing Jewel live on stage for the first time.
Those recollections were often perfect time capsules of the various
stages of her career and they resonated with me because Iʼve always
thought that above everything else, Jewelʼs greatest gift is as a live
performing artist.

Despite enjoying that thread so much, I myself never got around to
contributing. I thought Iʼd finally correct that issue and address my
first live Jewel experience in this here blog. Iʼve also included
several vintage images that nobody has ever seen and a choice audio
never before circulated as our free Club EDA download for September.